Monday, March 12, 2012

Words of Advice from a Seasoned Businesswoman...

Yes I promised I'd do this AGES ago but somehow kept losing my interview sheet or something else always came up. But today, though I had other stuff to write about, I thought it would be good to start off your week with an encouraging story from my major role model. A story I grew up listening to but never quite appreciated it until I became an entrepreneur. A story that sort of corroborates my take on doing business without necessarily having lots of money.

Ok... here goes...

Meet Mrs Adebola Alanamu, my FABULOUS mother! Yeah.... she's a stunner right?! Can...and will probably give me a run for my money anyday! ;-) She is one person I know who understands how to use overdrafts and the banking system to its fullest advantage. I write her letters and I am amazed at how she is able to manipulate her finances in such a way that she is pretty much a don at her bank.

Anywayz... here's her story...

"I had no money when I started business. I was working in Nigerian Breweries Marketing Company, starved of promotion for about 3 - 4 years so I moved to Wema Board Estate Limited as an auditor. As time went on, I felt it was time for me to leave as I had no help and had to stay at home with my young children. But I was in a predicament. I had to pay up my debt to the company and still had my children to feed. But since my children came first, my mind was made up!

Before I left the company, I had a side job where I was supplying cement and sand to build the Festac '77. I paid up my debt to the company with some of the money I had made from that venture and used the rest to take care of my kids while I was at home with them. Of course the money ran out eventually.

One day, out of desperation, I thought to myself 'let me meet my bank manager, maybe he can help'. Mr Komolafe, still a living witness, listened to my ordeal, looked at me for a looooong time and approved a N2,000 overdraft. With this N2,000, I continued to supply cement and sand and that's how my business took off! I worked hard, always paid my employees on time, saved diligently and never denied my children the necessities they needed. And I never for once allowed myself to think about the fact that I was a graduate supplying sand!

From there, my overdraft increased to N4,000 and then to N10,000 and before I knew it, my business expanded to include cement block making. And from block making, I moved to the oil industry as the dealer of a petrol station of one of the major marketers.

Same thing happened when I moved. I needed to deposit N40,000 to Nolchem but I only had N25,000. The person who promised to assist with the balance shattered my hopes on the eve of payment so I ran to my mother who loaned me the money and told me I mustreturn the loan in 3 months since she had retired from selling ankara in the market. And then again my business began and grew.

I built my business with overdrafts and zero collateral. And for those who believe everyone in the oil industry makes lots of money, that's not true. Only high turnovers make sense. All I had was the determination to succeed, my major motivation being my children, building relationships and paying back my loans and overdrafts and that is what has sustained me till today. I became such a good businesswoman that even my company then, National, became my guarantor at the bank when I was moved from one petrol station and was asked to be the dealer of their prime station that had just been built by Shell.

I look around me today and see so many proud yet lazy people. There is nothing you cannot do to make money. As you can see, I even sold sand! Even as I speak, I still sell pure water at my retail outlet and make at least N100,000 a month from it - AND I pay my taxes as at when due. So many youths today are proud. They need to make ends meet YET they feel insulted when you give them options. For me, it's not necessarily what you sell but how you sell it and more importantly, how you treat your customers. With diligence, hard work and steadfastness, you can achieve a lot and you need to be motivated. My major aim was to educate my children to whatever level they wished to go and still live a comfortable life. This I have done as a single mother.

I have been in business since 1978 and I am still in business. So I count myself as a very successful businesswoman!"

:-D Yup so do I. Not easy bringing up 5 kids pretty much all by yourself for a substantial part of their lives but she did it and I must say she did a mighty great job of it as well. After all, look how I turned out :-D (LOL)! But seriously, she was really strict! We used to fear her a lot but now we love her to bits! Thank goodness she's really chilled out now! Goodness... she never spared the whip at all! I still remember that electric wire rubber, we called "rubber" she used to flog us with! Now I look back and I'm thankful she did only some ofandnot all she did though I must confess, I understand why now. She did what she had to. Her story was much longer but I edited it to capture the important points.

So what's the moral of the story?! I'm sure it's pretty obvious. Be encouraged, be determined and remain focused!

I leave you to enjoy pictures of my mom and I. Yup, she is always with me every step of the way! And y'all shouldn't ask why I'm dark either. People keep asking me like I'm supposed to know why I chose my dad's complexion.

@ my graduation from fashion school in Cape Town @ Lagos Fashion Week, April 2010

On a business trip to Dubai which also coincided with my bday last yr & in her office last year, on her birthday wearing an outfit I made for her.

Anywayz, have a great week everyone!

Cheers!

PS. The new stream of MFC1a started on Saturday! It was tres fab! I'm really thankful for God's mercies. I had a full class! :-D I'll post pictures maybe tomorrow or so. Thank you all for coming! MWAH!

Thank you Eno. Yes she is strong! She can take on a whole city all by herself. Don't know how she does it really... :-D

Re the class, ah well... she should be though depending on how strong she is. In fact, she might even be in luck because we currently have a student who is due to travel for a few weeks so we have decided to have her catch up classes before she leaves. I have also invited other students in the current class to join in as well on the weekday classes so I have more people. This leaves 2 slots open in the Saturday-only class and more spaces in the weekday slots which will run full throttle, almost as a crash course.

Do let me know if she is interested and we can take it from there. The catch up class will begin next week, while normal classes resume on 24th as I am away this weekend. She has only missed one class and that she can sit in on with the next set, starting in May.

Thank you! It really does. Like I said, I grew up listening to these stories but never really appreciated it until I became an entrepreneur. I have seen it work and fully understand how little drops of water make a mighty ocean. Works every time!

About T.Williams-A

My name is Tope Williams-Adewunmi, a South African-trained fashion designer well versed in various areas of the fashion and beauty industry, its relationship with the business community and the business of fashion.
I run Martwayne, a fashion retail & training outfit set up to give people "Power Through Fashion"!
Enjoy my blog!

About This Site

Welcome to Martwayne - and Fashion Beyond Stitches!Here, we teach and discuss how you can turn your love for fashion into into money-spinners, sharing knowledge, ideas and skills necessary to run successful fashion businesses.

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My Notable Quotes & Extracts...

"There's nothing worse than loving what you do but not enjoying it" - Me! [T.Williams] :-D

"You are the You that makes You the You that You Are" -Unknown

"The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty" - Proverbs 21:5

"A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest; So shall your poverty come like a prowler, And your need like an armed man" -Proverbs 24: 33 - 34

"Focus is not important, but Push is (reinvention)... "the push" is the ability to get up every day, open up the shades, and push through all the things that make you want to go back to sleep... Just pushing forward to create a little more life inside yourself" - James Altucher

"A new flood is foretold. In five days the rain will be incessant, and the world will be wiped out.... The Chief Rabbi of Israel goes on TV and says, "We have five days to learn to live underwater!" - Extract from The Jewish Phenomenon by Steven Silbiger (page 25)

" I look at my earlier notes and I laugh. I thought I would start my research in January 2009 and launch in September 2009. I laugh really hard at this because it took three years in the end." - Suzan Wokabi; "Selling Beauty to Kenyans" in an article by Ventures Africa (21st July, 2013)

Some of my BEST work... in my opinion...

My Crystal Gala Outfit...

My Dark Onyx...

My Wedding Gown :-D

Click on the image to see more pictures...

Styling & Photography

CD Cover...

Hair & Make Up... :-D

Stunning Illustration! I call her "Mother Earth"...

Can't recall where I got this image from from it is absolutely stunning! Filled with lots of inspiration for a thousand collections!

Stunning Fashion Photos...

Ebony on America's Next Top Model (Cycle 9) : "The Girl Who is Afraid of Heights"

Another Stunning Photo...

Picture culled from the internet...(still trying to figure out where exactly I got the image from...)

For those who want to start a Fashion Label / Clothing Line or practising designers currently facing challenges with their fashion businesses.

Training Center Testimonials...

"I just want to thank Miss Williams for the wonderful opportunity she gave us in the last 6 weeks. She gave us VALUE for our money! In my opinion, she did us a favour because what we paid was nothing compared to what we got. If you weren't a part of this course, I'd advise that you join the course starting on the 14th. Thank me later! :)" - Vicky Ash

"True!! We got a lot more than we paid for. You won't want to miss the next session" - S. Giwa

"I already own my fashion business. After attending just a class, I could see why I haven't expanded as I have always wanted. One never stops learning. A big thank you to Miss Tope Williams for sharing her knowledge" - F.Akinropo; CEO Hazellets